Chapter 69: brought to you by travel logs

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Now we play an episode of Civilization IV. I think I'll put my upgrade points into urban development. Meanwhile, I'll ignore the puckered dips of fat on my thigh, because in this world, we're all sexy.

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That evening, Harvey returned with several more bags of vegetables, rice, and even a handful of smaller rabbits that had been caught in traps nibbling on the fresh sprigs of the field. With his catch, Shay whipped up a most wonderful rabbit stew and they had a good deal of fun talking about their experiences in the village. Now that Joseph was gone and everyone was politely playing their role, whether it be guardian, child, or mate, they got along wonderfully and Shay had another moment of clarity where she thought she could see heaven. Miur still didn't really talk and Curtis and Ryan weren't chummy best friends, but they still had a good laugh together at the story of the gorilla-like horse princess trying to persuade an already mated panther to be hers. Even Harvey had a funny story to tell about a patient of his who he had been told was on her deathbed, when really she had just been eating too many fang roots (carrots).

Behind the adults, Thumb hissed his own tale to an audience of eager brothers and sisters.

As they talked, Curtis worked on dresses for the girls using the fabric Shay had bought and Shay quietly plucked the strings of the harp, testing the tone against her ear. The cold air had tightened the strings, making the notes slightly sharp.

They then talked about their destination, or rather, Curtis, Ryan, and Shay did, since the guardians and Harvey were mostly along for the ride. They had originally been intending to just go south towards the sea, but Shay had had a thought while in town today.

"Are there even that many ferals next to the sea?"

But Curtis and Ryan were quiet.

Shay smiled. "I thought so."

"Ferals are technically everywhere," said Ryan carefully. "But they tend to gravitate towards areas away from villages so that the edges of their territory don't conflict with them."

"And in order to have a successful village, you need both freshwater, fertile land, and access to building materials. The sea is rife with that stuff, and the plains can be as well."

At their boggled-eyed stare, she slumped down shyly. "Um, what?"

"Just you once again surprising us with your knowledge," said Harvey with a small, secretive sort of smile.

"It makes so much sense it's a wonder that I didn't think of it, and yet brilliant," said Curtis with a nod. "I wouldn't expect less."

"Well, where should we go then?" asked Ryan. "We need all those things too."

"We'll just have to find that edge," said Shay slowly. "The line between territories and villages. Did you say there was a desert where the scorpions live?"

"We are not living in the desert," said Curtis, solid as stone.

"I was never going to suggest it, my water-lover," said Shay with a smile. "But I am wondering what doctors there are to serve the females of the scorpions."

Parker snorted loudly. "That's funny right there. Scorpions caring about their females staying alive. Look, Shay, I know you haven't listened much about how bad ferals are since mating with these two," he poked a thumb over at the snake and panther sitting cross-legged beside him. "But even they'll back me up when I say that scorpions really are the worst of the lot. A female can give birth to almost a hundred at a time--"

Shay choked on her spit. "H-hundred?"

"Needless to say, reproduction isn't that big of a deal to them," said Parker wryly. "They only need to keep a female alive long enough for one brood and they have a whole town. Granted, they're not exactly nurturing to their kids either. They kick them out the moment their shells are hardened."

"Scorpions also settled and run the City of Flames," said Ryan quietly.

The hisses from the baby snakes had fallen quiet from behind her at the change of tone in the adult's conversation. Little Sky toddled around Shay to plop down in her lap.

Shay stroked her head, frowning. "I've heard of that place. Where all the abandoned males go?"

"And the rejected, and some who simply went mad after the death of their female," said Ryan. "The females there were captured to be used as playthings. Many have tried to rescue them and failed."

"Yeah, Neara told me Winston got that scar on his face from trying. She told me he said there were beastmen there above four stripes there."

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Curtis.

"Did you ever go there?" Shay asked him. "For curiosity's sake, I mean."

"No," he reached up to pluck another hair from his head for thread, turning a little green dress around as he did. "My curiosity was not strong enough to overcome my dislike of dry hot places in general, nor do I think all that highly of scorpions in the first place. Stupid creatures, really."

A small commotion started up in Shay's lap as Dawn crawled over and tried to push Sky out. Sky shrieked in response and pushed back.

"Gracious, girls..." she pulled them apart, where they hissed and bared their fangs at one another across the space. "You can both fit. Honestly, you're worse than the boys." Once she'd settle their fight and they each sat on a thigh, pouting all the same, she asked "What kinds of ferals are there anyways? I know of snakes, scorpions, and, uh, lizards?"

"There's also the rare skunk and the occasional beever," said Curtis. "Both of which are also stupid."

"I wonder what you're using for comparison," said Ryan, chucking a stick into the campfire.

"Rejoice, for you are not stupid."

"Thank you?"

"I would have killed you otherwise for touching my mate. But...your lack of stupidity has made you a necessary evil, sadly."

"....Whatever helps you sleep at night when my cubs come along."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"If you don't know, don't bother."

"Back to my question," urged Shay.

"There are also feral wolves," said Curtis. "Scrawny, violent things that couldn't calm down enough to live in a village among others. Wolves that turn feral live to 'the strongest rule' in body, mind, and soul, and not much else resides in their mind."

"She asked for a list, not your opinion," quipped Parker from where he'd stretched out on a log.

If Curtis had been in his half-human form he would have smacked Parker with a tail for that. But, with a lap full of precarious half-made dress, he had to settle for a glare.

"It's really hard to say," pushed in Ryan as Curtis was busy trying to shoot poison from his eyes. "Ferals can technically be any beastman that doesn't live in a village, tribe, or in beast city. Most of them are the cold-blooded beastmen, who have long standing traditions of leaving their children before they're fully grown. I think that's what mostly decides it--how they raise their children."

Harvey nodded, as though it had clicked something into place for him.

"Then why aren't merfolk..." Shay stopped. "Ahhh, they only have one female, and her beauty has spoiled them for any other female."

"They probably would be otherwise," said Curtis with a haughty sniff. "I've never been able to tell the difference between merfolk young and other fish. Sometimes I think there is no difference and they just wake up self-aware one day and wander back."

"You probably think they're stupid," said Ryan with a smirk, leaning his head on his palm.

"Unfortunately, no. Filling up your time while you drift around like a log actually takes some thought. They're quite good with their hands, as you can tell by Shay's new toy." He nodded towards the harp. "And they're very avid traders."

"Still, there aren't many females near the sea," I said slowly. "Miur told me there are only male eagle beastmen on the cliffs, the merfolk only have one female, leaving only the peacock tribe. Less females mean there wouldn't be all that many ferals heading there for mates, now, would there?"

"I loathe peacock females the most," said Curtis, as though stating his favorite flavor of tea. "And the males are mostly feathers. Not even a whole meal."

An awkward silence fell after that. Leave it to Curtis to make cannibalism sound like a brand of shortbread cookies.

"Then how about part way?" I asked. "Somewhere between the desert and the ocean?"

"In the mountains?" asked Curtis.

"Maybe we could find a valley with some fresh water." She closed her eyes, smiling to herself, hands full of silky little girl hair. "Yeah. A green valley protected by mountains. You know, when mountains surround a valley they make it harder for storms to pass by. That's why mountain ranges often separate lush, fertile lands that get lots of rain with deserts."

She opened her eyes to see the men looking in their own spots as they contemplated this. Even Miur looked thoughtful, his eyebrows high in his dark hair.

"Mountains stop growth," the eagle said, slowly. "So no villages."

Harvey's eyebrows shot up. "He's right. Mountains are what stop farmlands from spreading out. This would keep us isolated."

"But ferals would still cross the mountains to get to the villages," said Ryan.

Curtis just smiled. "Compared to my wife, everyone is stupid."

With that, it was agreed on that they would head to the mountains and search for a good valley to settle down in. Miur even offered to fly ahead once they reached the foothills to find one for them, to which Ryan and Curtis readily agreed, not needing to exchange glances to know the other was thinking the same thing.

Shay just sighed. Miur is so stinking useful, why do they have to be so eager to ditch him? I mean, why not Parker? He's not half so useful.

But even then, she knew the answer. Brilliant or not, Miur had still nearly killed her with his whole colossal egg plan. He also held a much haughtier air than Parker, who acted more like a silly teenage boy on the playground. To the prideful, attitude was everything.

Curtis only had enough time to finish one dress, which he gifted to Luna in the morning, leaving Dawn and Sky in a fur wrap. The little dress was modeled after Shay's snake-skin clothes, but was one piece rather than two, covering her stomach and lower back while tying behind her neck. It swayed in time with her uneasy steps as she attempted to walk to Shay, eyes to the swaying emerald green cloth.

"Swish swish," she whispered to the skirts. "Swish swish!"

Curtis' face softened from the warmth of his smile.

Sky appreciated the skirt with her sister, giggling and lifting the cloth as though hoping it would fly. She seemed as happy as her sister just getting to look at it.

Dawn, however, squawked with jealousy.

"Mine!"

Her hands yanked on the skirt, toppling the precariously balanced Luna to the dirt.

Sky covered her mouth with her hands in shock.

Before Shay could take even a step, Curtis had swiped the naughty twin from the ground.

"You are getting your own, impatient whelp," he said sharply, eyes narrowed. "Jealousy makes you ugly."

Dawn's short little legs and arms seemed to shrivel in towards her belly.

"I'm u'ly?"

"You're making yourself ugly," he said, scowling. "No man's going to want an ugly female."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"Curtis!" Shay strode through the other two girls. "Stop! It's perfectly natural to feel jealous, don't tell her she's ugly."

"It's only the truth," he said, dropping Dawn.

Shay caught her just in time.

"We can't control how we feel," she said, mirroring his scowl. "We can only control how we react to it."

"Then she reacted poorly."

"Ha, you're one to talk."

His eyes narrowed. "I think I react rather well, seeing as I'm jealous most of the time."

That shut her up.

Daughter drama aside, her and Curtis made up after a brief silent treatment that was more out of confusion of just what to say than an actual want to punish the other.

Then the great caravan was off, heading to the east alongside the edge of the forest, towards the mountains.

Something they talked about on the way (during the time Shay was walking, since it forced them all to slow down enough to actually talk), was on the matter of the girls' transformation back into snakes. They had yet to show any sign of turning back into snakes and Shay was beginning to wonder if they even had that ability. Harvey suggested that the control was something gained with maturity, to which Shay thought made sense. A more developed mind could do more.

"Controlling the shift did take me time," said Curtis with a frown. "But it was mostly instinct. Wasn't it the same for you?"

The men nodded in turn.

So as Shay practiced consonants with the girls, she tried to talk to them about changing back. At their mirroring blank looks, she gave up.

As they walked, if Harvey happened to see a useful plant amongst the early sprouters of spring, he'd show it to her, along with where it had chosen to grow so she'd be able to find it in the future, despite Ryan's protests that he could find any plant she needed. Harvey also quizzed her, which she passed with flying colors. Her memory for anything written or read had always been excellent, and since she'd made notes, win win. Though sad she'd be dropped in a world without any written word whatsoever.

Sometime around noon, the day had actually grown somewhat warm and Parker dove into the river to dig up some fish, which he then gutted and boned in the way Neara had taught him since Shay had been too queasy about blood. Despite that, Shay forced herself to watch. Curtis pulled her away after the third fish, however, to help him with the girls since he didn't want to make a mistake.

"You're going to make mistakes," said Shay with a roll of her eyes. "Nobody is perfect."

"But you seem to know more than me."

"Only because I grew up in a different world and am a girl myself. You do pretty well with my feelings and talking to me, don't you?"

Curtis's flat look clearly told her that she and a not-yet-one-year-old female snake weren't the same thing at all.

Shay sighed.

As they walked, Parker and the boy snakes played alongside them, because apparently Shay's travel speed and the male's travel speed were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Curtis was not the type to dawdle and it could be clearly seen as day that he was holding himself back from sweeping Shay up into his arms and kicking them back up to speed. Miur, who was sick, and Harvey, who had no marks, favored Shay's speed the most and did everything to not make nuisances of themselves so they could stay that way.

Ryan was just happy to be there, and liked that, while they walked, he could hold Shay's hand and the ankle of one of the snake girls on his shoulders with the other.

This added even more irritation to Curtis. Walking speed was difficult on a snake's tail, so he had to transform down to full human form to hold her hand.

Thus, the moment Shay said she was ready to ride, he was the first to sweep her up and leave the others in the dust, crying baby snakes included.

They all agreed that they needed more distance from the City of Beasts, so they just followed the plains south at the edge of the foothills. Miur would be sent up to start his search in three days, which would give him sufficient time for healing.

In the evening, after a dinner of lean buck, while Curtis sewed little girl dresses, Shay read fairytales to the children gathered around Parker, Ryan helped Harvey prepare medicines, and Miur perched above it all on an outcrop of rock as an eagle, keeping one eye to their surroundings.

Despite missing a proper soft bed and a warm bath every night, Shay found the traveling life not so bad. Harvey even still had a stash of prickle fruit, which were what Neara and Shay had been using to brush their teeth ever since Parker introduced it to Shay during the rainy season. Since she slept with Ryan the night before, this night she slept atop the bear pelt within the coil tower of Curtis, blanketed by dusty boy snakes and three little girls.

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